Discrimination of Biomechanically Possible and Impossible Hand Movements at Birth

The development of human body perception has long been investigated, but little is known about its early origins. This study focused on how a body part highly relevant to the human species, namely the hand, is perceived a few days after birth. Using a preferential-looking paradigm, 24- to 48-hr-old...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child development 2015-03, Vol.86 (2), p.632-641
Main Authors: Longhi, Elena, Senna, Irene, Bolognini, Nadia, Bulf, Hermann, Tagliabue, Paolo, Macchi Cassia, Viola, Turati, Chiara
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomechanical Phenomena
Biomechanics
Child development
Child Development - physiology
Early childhood
EMPIRICAL REPORTS
Experiments
Female
Gestures
Hand
Hands
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Male
Movement - physiology
Newborn babies
Paradigms
Perception
Posture
Sensory perception
Visual Perception - physiology
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Summary:The development of human body perception has long been investigated, but little is known about its early origins. This study focused on how a body part highly relevant to the human species, namely the hand, is perceived a few days after birth. Using a preferential-looking paradigm, 24- to 48-hr-old newborns watched biomechanically possible and impossible dynamic hand gestures (Experiment 1, N = 15) and static hand postures (Experiment 2, N = 15). In Experiment 1, newborns looked longer at the impossible, compared to the possible, hand movement, whereas in Experiment 2 no visual preference emerged. These findings suggest that early in life the representation of the human body may be shaped by sensory-motor experience.
ISSN:0009-3920
1467-8624
DOI:10.1111/cdev.12329